Helping the victims of sexual violence in Tigray

Welela Leul is organizing this fundraiser.

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My name is Welela Leul and written below is a brief background of what I'm raising funds for and why.

Since November of 2020 there has been a civil war in my home region of Tigray. The people of Tigray have been suffering monumentally from mass killings, looting, starvation, and various sexual abuses. What started as a political dispute quickly turned to ethnic cleansing against the civilians of Tigray. To this day, countless human rights abuses are still being carried out.

Not one Tigrayan woman or girl has been safe for 8 months now. As if constantly fearing for their sons, grandsons, husbands, and brothers' lives weren't enough, they soon became targets themselves. Girls as young as 8 years old are now among the thousands of victims of sexual violence in Tigray. As heard in several testimonies, dehumanizing and disturbing rhetoric is often used while these women are being violated. Many cases also involve deliberate brutal actions with the intent to permanently traumatize and scar these women ( Health official alleges ‘sexual slavery’ in Tigray). As of March, it was reported that 10,000 Tigrayan women have been raped (UK Parliament Report Conflict in Tigray). It is now June.

Most of the victims describe their assailants as either Ethiopian soldiers or Eritrean troops. These same troops are looting hospitals and destroying health care infrastructure, leaving doctors with little resources to aid these victims (Don’t Turn Away From These Images and These Crimes).

Reading and listening to these accounts have been beyond heartbreaking. Watching as no aid, relief, or even hope can be given to these women is upsetting, to say the least. Around 35 years ago, my mom and her friend fled a similar civil war in Tigray. As young women alone in the wilderness, with opposition soldiers everywhere, we know their fate could have been similar to those victims today.

Our intention with this Gofundme is to raise money for the victims who are unable to receive medical treatment due to the lack of resources throughout the region of Tigray. We hope this will remove one of the many barriers victims of sexual violence have to face. The money collected will be received and distributed by someone we know and trust, working for a reputable nonprofit charity. He has been working alongside the Tigrayan diaspora for years, helping us help our families. Throughout the past 8 months he has been a great help to the community and the people of Tigray.

A donation of any amount is greatly appreciated and please remember that it costs nothing to share/repost this with friends and family. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to DM us. Thank you.

-Welela and Kidus Leul

We understand that due to the communications blackout throughout the region this may be the first time you are hearing about the situation in Tigray. Below are some additional resources if you seek to further understand what's going on:

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/may/14/rape-used-as-weapon-war-tigray-ethiopia-witnesses
https://globalvoices.org/2021/07/05/vicious-mass-rape-of-women-has-become-a-weapon-against-the-tigray-in-ethiopian-war/